Broadcast 1852 (Special Edition)

Guests: John Elbon; John Mulholland; Dr. Robert O'Brien. Topics: Boeing Commercial Space programs and nuclear thermal propulsion updates. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. Welcome to Part One of taped interviews made while I was attending the AIAA Space 2012/CASE Conference in Pasadena, CA. I was assisted in these interviews by Space Show supporter and listener, Dr. Doug Plata. Part One has three interviews. First is Boeing's John Elbon who talks about the Boeing commercial space programs. The next interview is with John Mulholland, also of Boeing, regarding the Space Shuttle, human spaceflight, lessons learned, and the CST 100. We talked with both Boeing guests about many topics from contracting types to safety, crew abort, launch vehicles, etc. The final interview is an update on nuclear thermal propulsion and new fuel development with Dr. Robert C. O'Brien of the Center For Space Nuclear Research in Idaho Falls, ID. Earlier this year, Dr. Howe of the same organization was with us and introduced us to their organization and their nuclear propulsion work. Dr. O'Brien updated us on their work regarding fuel development, launch characteristics, applications, commercial uses, and more. Included in our discussion was a detailed segment on why this propulsion is safe, why it is completely different from nuclear weapons as well as nuclear power plants. Please post your comments about these three interviews on The Space Show blog URL above. If you would like to contact either of these guests including our co-host Dr. Plata, send your note to me and I will forward it to them.